Diversity of Ant Species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Nesting Beneath Different Trees in Periyanaickenpalyam, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu

Ants (Formicidae: Hymenoptera) are one of the most successful organisms of the tropics and have survived many geological changes in the past and play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning. The present study examined ants nesting beneath different trees in Periyanaickenpalyam village, from November 2017 to February 2018. The study observed that 384 ants nests associated with 27 floral species at different locations in Periyanaickenpalyam were recorded. Based on floral ants nest association maximum of 18% ants nest in the Prosopis juliflora species followed by 15% of Azadirachta indica, Ficus religiosa contain 12%, Mangifera indica cover 9%, Shorea robusta (6%) and Toona ciliata equally contain (6%) and rest of floral species Cocos nucifera, Ficus benghalensis, Santalum album, Gmelina arborea, Bambuseae, carica papaya, Thespepsia populnea, Delonix, Tamarinds indica, Cassia fistula, Musa acuminate each contain (3%) were observed. According to nest wise, fifty four nest below the Prosopis juliflora followed by fifty two nests in Azadirachta indica, (49) nests engaged in ficus religiosa, forty nests in Mangifera indica and twenty three nests beneath the Shorea robusta, Ficus benghalensis each and in Toona ciliata, Bambuseae both contain twenty two nests, reset of species contain less than 15 ants in Gmelina arborea, Carica papaya, Delonix, Cocos nucifera, Santalum album, Musa acuminate, Tamarinds indica, Cassia fistula and Thespepsia populnea trees were observed from the study. It can be concluded that this study provides clue information on ants nesting association with floral species.